Dr. Nancy Steinhart, Professor of East Asian Art, Curator, Asian Section, Penn Museum.
For 1100 years, the Forbidden City has been the residence of China's emperors and the center of imperial ritual. This lecture explores the lives of China's most important rulers, Khubilai Khan, Yongle, Kangxi, and Qianlong inside the City, the rituals they performed, and the ceremonial and religious architecture they built. It also shows how a Mongol city that became a Chinese city and then a Manchu city transformed into a People's City of government, commerce, and residence of 21.5 million.